We have a guest post for you today, from Beth and Paul Irving from Canada. They have a video podcast on YouTube called Lost in Coronation Street, short and snappy opinions on what's going on lately on the Street in the Canadian Timeline. They think that Sally and Tim are the new Jack and Vera on the Street.. Here's their theory. Do you agree?
With all the talk of Coronation Street straying too far from it’s original charm, we would like to submit the following.
There have been many couples over the years that embodied this original charm. Jack and Vera come to mind immediately, although we realize that there have been others. It appears to us that the couple best suited to carry on the tradition of Jack and Vera is Sally and Tim. We can hear many of you shouting “Tyrone and Fizz”, “Kirk and Beth”. Through no fault of their own, Michelle and Steve are simply too modern. They are all great characters, but allow us to expound on our theory.
Jack and Tim are dedicated to the old “duck and dive”, unlike Tyrone and Kirk who are both dedicated grafters.
Jack and Tim have no problem telling their women a “porky” which gets them what they want in the short term, but a world of trouble and strife in the end. Tyrone and Kirk are simply too honest with their women.
Jack and Tim both love their women, but do not wear their hearts on their sleeves. You need to scratch at the surface which is frustrating but worthwhile. Tyrone and Kirk are open and obvious with their love.
Jack and Tim will sneak away for a cheeky pint with a passion that makes us want a pint. They are charmingly mischievous. Tyrone and Kirk cannot enjoy a cheeky pint without constantly worrying about “getting home”.
Sally and Vera are working class, but with pretensions. Vera claimed lineage to the Royal Family and dubbed her house “The Old Rectory” with a plaque. Sally craves being the P.A to her boss, being the office manager or being “left in charge”. And of course, she has her “conservatory”. Fizz and Beth are proud grafters, without pretension or any belief in elevating their station.
While seeming rather straight on the surface, Sally and Vera both posses a charming “wackiness”. Fizz (at least, before motherhood) and Beth appear wacky but underneath are straight and solid.
Sally and Vera suffer their men’s flaws but always forgive them and "make up" in the end with a certain original Corrie charm. Fizz and Beth seem much more “modern" about it all. We are surrounded by “modern”, we want that old Corrie charm.
This is our theory and we present it with respect and a willingness to listen to your thoughts over a cheeky pint.
(This post was originally posted by Stevie Dawson on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2014.)
Coronation Street’s Clown-in-Chief Steve McDonald has been
feeling a bit down in the dumps recently. Wracked with guilt over his
involvement in the Peter-Carla-Tina situation, further compounded by his Dad
Jim’s mischievous and violent actions in prison, Steve is feeling the weight of
the world on his shoulders. Weatherfield’s wally has pressure coming from all
sides with a demanding girlfriend, two businesses to run, mum Liz getting
involved with Jim again, not to mention his infatuation with a dot-to-dot of moles he's discovered causing him extra worry, albeit unnecessarily, things are getting to him. There’s
also the additional worry of little Amy and her ever more present Tracy-like
behaviour, which we are all fearful of!
Who can blame Steve for feeling a bit stressed?
Well it’s more serious than that. We are about to witness
Steve descend into depression. Who can blame him with everything that’s going
on? And the cherry on the cake is the big 4-0. It’s becoming clear to Steve
that even though he might go through life making light of situations, he can’t
get away with joking his way out of things any more. He’s a dad, a partner, a
business owner and actually, he’s proud of what he’s managed to build up over
the years, especially considering the many hurdles he has had to confront. But
who knows how long he has been hiding these feelings? It’s common for people
with depression to cover it up until they are at breaking point. The McDonald
clan have certainly had a lot to contend with over the years.
The Steve and Liz of today are a wonderful example of how
characters can change and develop in Coronation Street. Many of us remember the
tumultuous 90’s with Jim, an ex-solider terrorising his wife, Liz whose pain
could be read in every facial expression. The twins Andy and Steve fighting,
getting into trouble and further making Liz’s life a bit of a nightmare. Add in
a few more prison sentences, murder charges, wives, children and of course the
ever present Tracey Barlow, and you’d actually expect a rather fractured mother
and son relationship. But Steve and Liz have become quite the double act. Despite
the trials of life in Weatherfield they have stuck together. Granted they get
right on each other’s nerves a lot of the time, but they are a team and at the
moment it seems one that would prove difficult to break. This was highlighted
quite beautifully when Liz last left the cobbles in 2011. Her final scenes
showed that love Steve and Liz have for each other.
At the time, Bev Callard who plays Liz was going through her
own serious depression problems and thankfully she has got through them and
returned to Corrie. Bev and Simon Gregson are very close in real life and I’m sure
the experience of those difficult couple of years for Bev will help them both
portray this important storyline in the brilliant and delicate way Coronation
Street always approaches such issues.
So what does this storyline mean for Steve McDonald? Have we
lost our favourite joker for good, will he too get through this difficult
time or will he come out of this a different person? With depression, and I
know Corrie will have done their homework, as in life it’s difficult to say.
Life experiences, trauma and the daily grind contribute to depression, but
sometimes it’s difficult even for the professionals not only to explain but
diagnose. Steve’s storyline has only just begun. We’ll see him try to diagnose
himself, question his worth and question his relationships. Hopefully we'll see the strong bond between Liz and Steve prove it's worth during his difficult time. It’s sure to be emotional but essential Coronation Street viewing, for those that know about
depression and those who may learn a thing or two.
There are many ways people can get support if they are
feeling depressed, or can’t explain exactly what they are feeling. Here are a
few ways you can find out more information:
Mind.org / @MindCharity – one of the most prominent mental health charities
Twitter: @timetochange – the campaign to end discrimination against
people with mental health problems
FRIDAY 10th OCTOBER IS WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY #WMHD
Troublemaker award: Carla brought up being Rob's "Best man/Woman" just so she could see Tracy's reaction.
Throwback Monday award: Jason recalling Fred Elliott, I say, Fred Elliott!
Faulty Memory award: Jim thinks he always made Liz feel she was loved. That would be all the times except for the ones he knocked her around, that is.
Burnout award: Kirk and Beth are going to push themselves over the edge for this wedding
Get off the pot award: Steve's obsession over this mole has lasted over a week. Why did it take him so long to go to the doctor about it if he was that worried?
Loyalty award: Ken and Roy.
Lines of the week:
Gary about Zeedan "He's a good lad, really. Just misses his mam"
Liz to Tony "You konw the last time I let a man tell me what to do? Never!" leading to "I don't do ultimatums" (That's the Liz we know and love"
Jim to Liz "I think you should be choosing your men by comparing them to me!" (He's right, she does)
Eva to David "It was a girly chat and if I tell you, I might get exterminated by the Sisterhood"
Carla "Start whacking!" (poor Kirky)
Tracy to Rob "Are you trying to ruin my special day?" (It's his special day, too!)
Steph to Steve "Looks like you've had a fight with a felt tip pen"
Ken to Peter "They can prove you're an alcoholic, a bigamist, an adulterer, but none of that means you're a killer"
Callum "You think you're too good for me, now?" Kylie "I were always too good for you"
Sinead "Traditional. It's just another word for boring!" (I can't wait to see their wedding!)
(This post was originally posted by Martin Leay on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2014.)
Move over Jez Quigley… do one Rick Neelan –
there’s a new bad boy in town and his name is Callum Logan!
Callum - Kylie’s ex and the biological
father of Max - will be making his on-screen debut this evening. I attended a
round table event at ITV Southbank yesterday during which I was able to quiz actor
Sean Ward on what we can expect from Corrie’s new baddie.
Fresh out of prison after a two year
stretch for assault and having set up shop as a drug dealer (hence the “bit of business”
he was conducting in Leeds on Wednesday night), Callum is a nasty piece of work.
Sean Ward, on the other hand, is a top bloke who I suspect couldn’t be nasty if
he tried. Here we are (a) doing bad boy poses and (b) in a more relaxed stance:
Sean is “very excited” to be joining
Coronation Street and jokes that being a bad boy is “much better than the
rom-com guy”. He describes Callum as a “bad lad” who deals drugs and has “never
been around for Max”. However, he feels that Callum only really went off the
rails when Kylie left, after which he “resorted to violence and ended up in
prison”.
I asked if Callum is an out-and-out villain
or whether there could be something of the “loveable rogue” about him. “That’s
how I’ve tried to play him”, he says. Despite the fact “he’s got history, a bad
past and a terrible job”, Sean sees Callum as a “flirty
cheeky chappy” with “a little glint in his eye”. And deep down, he still cares
for Kylie. I suspect there could be feelings that remain on her side too -
first love and all of that.
Whether Kylie is searching for answers
about Max’s condition or trying to score some stronger chemicals than ADHD
tablets, she will be reunited with her ex tonight. According to Sean, Callum “definitely”
wants Kylie back and would go “as far as he can” to get her. But if successful,
whether or not he would keep her is another matter. “It’s all about the chase”,
says Sean. Classic bad lad!
While David is right to be upset with Kylie
for stealing Max’s pills, his grandstanding indignation is pushing her away –
onto harder drugs and potentially into the arms of Callum.
Callum looks down on David, who he
mockingly refers to as “the hairdresser”. But as hard as Callum might be, it
takes a brave man to get on the wrong side of David Platt. And besides – Platty must be a Senior Stylist by now. “We all know David’s done some crazy things”,
laughs Sean who believes it would be a great match between them and would “love
to be the guy” who gives David a slap.
Going by the preview clip for tonight’s first
episode (which is all that Sean has seen of himself so far), Callum’s early
scenes will take place inside the Dog and Gun pub, the name of which is
appropriately menacing. These scenes were filmed on location in Wythenshawe, traditionally
one of Manchester’s less salubrious districts. The clip can be viewed below:
Callum will initially inhabit a world
outside of The Street, away from the rest of the cast. “I don’t actually feel
like I’m on Coronation Street yet as I’ve not hit Weatherfield”, says Sean.
However, Callum is likely to “cause a bit of trouble on the cobbles” soon
enough.
Callum can’t believe that Kylie has
settled for a quiet life in cushy Weatherfield and will want to find out more
about the world she now lives in. Even though it might be what she deserves, he
will try to convince her that it is not what she wants.
Max may be the reason Kylie gives for seeking Callum out but she soon “falls back into her old kind of life and is able
to forget all the stress”. So it’s not really about Max then, as Kylie claimed
to Eva when setting off for the Paul Robeson Estate on Wednesday evening.
According to Sean, it is the drugs that
have brought Kylie back to Callum “but he thinks she’s coming back for him”.
With the lines blurred, he will use the drugs to “keep her around”. It seems
difficult to empathise with a character that doles out wraps of speed to
someone he is supposed to care about.
That said; Callum could yet redeem himself
as a father to Max. “I’d love to turn Max into a little Callum”, says Sean –
“get rid of that floppy hair, get the top button all the way up - the pair of
us could go bowling down the cobbles”. If Kylie and Callum sound like a recipe
for disaster, Sean points out that “the fact Max would have both parents in his
life” is one good thing that could come out of their renewed contact.
It must be daunting to come into a show as
big as Coronation Street but also to step into the lives of one its most established
families. “Kylie is such a loved character”, says Sean, “so that’s where I’m
scared because I’m leading her down an even worse path”.
Sean has “no idea what the plan is yet with
Callum” but there could be scope for him to stay on in Weatherfield. But not as
“a full time drug dealer”, says Sean. Not with the strict anti-drugs policy at
The Rovers (there is a sign behind the bar), made even stricter following that unsavoury business with Ryan Connor.
Corrie’s Publicity Manager notes that the
reaction at ITV has been very good so far and Logan’s run has been extended to
20 episodes. We’ll be seeing a fair bit of Callum in the coming weeks then.
While he has been acting for years (he
starred in the David Thewlis film “Cheeky” at the age of 12 and the excellent adaptation
of “Awaydays”, not to mention the current BBC1 drama “Our Girl” with Lacey Turner),
Sean can expect more notoriety as his Corrie scenes go out.
Until fairly recently, between acting jobs he
worked in the Manchester bar, “Almost Famous”. By coincidence, I was there last
week and when I describe the amazing double cheeseburger with pulled pork that
I ate there, he quickly identifies it as the “Triple Nom”. I wonder if any of
the “real journalists” present at the round table will report this key fact!
Sean quips that getting the part in Corrie made
him “nearly famous”. He enjoys talking to people and hopes that being in Corrie
will simply mean he’ll “be able to say hello to more people.” Just so long as
he doesn’t get handbagged or, worse still, “battered in Tesco!”
He is enjoying working with Paula Lane who
he describes as “a Goddess” for showing him the ropes on set. If he could
choose his ideal scene when Callum does eventually tread the Cobbles, Sean
would “love to go and have a bacon butty with Roy”. Who wouldn’t?!!
Corrie has a rich history of bad lads and
Sean’s favourite in recent years has been Rob. It could be said that Marc
Baylis is passing the baton on and who knows, maybe Callum will be up for Best
Bad Boy when the next awards season rolls round? Let’s wait and see.
It was great to meet Sean Ward yesterday and I look forward to seeing the sparks fly
between Kylie and Callum over the next few weeks; and exactly what this will mean
for the residents of No 8 Coronation Street.
The week starts off with a Muslim celebration, Eid, wherein hearts and homes are opened to all. Except Leanne. Zeedan's heart is definitely not open to her! Yasmeen has been cooking since Thursday but when Sharif hears that she told Emily the new community centre would not welcome seniors, he marched her right over with flowers for peace talks, Emily accepted and accepted the invitation to the banquet though Norris complained about spicy food. He's so ungracious! Gary and Alya are flirting like mad and kissed and you knew that was coming! Now she's backing off and he can't understand why, if her dad is dating a non-Muslim, why can't they get together? Fair question but perhaps she's just not ready for the conflict.
Did Gary really bring a big bottle of booze to a Muslim household or was it something non-alcoholic? No, maybe he did say it was pop, I think. And Leanne did stay away, Kal made an excuse but his mother suspected Zeedan had something to do with it. It sounds like Yasmeen is even feeling a bit kinder about Leanne. I guess they can only have one person hating Leanne at a time and the baton has been passed to Zeedan.
Working on gutting the butcher shop seems to be a family endeavor with Jason and Gary doing the building honours. No doubt they'll have it renovated in record time just like when Jason and Tony had the gym ready for business in 10 minutes. Loved Jason remembering Fred Elliott, I say, Fred Elliott.
Peter's trial is coming up next week. Peter seems to be feeling a bit positive. Roy's been called as a prosecution witness and fears that his words will be twisted. Ken insists their friendship will be strong enough to overlook it but Deirdre isn't handling any of this well. She's finding all the trial talk grinding on her last nerve so they agreed, no trial talk just for today. That lasted 5 minutes and ended up with trifle all over the wall when Tracy and Carla started arguing about Peter. I don't blame Carla for not wanting to talk to him, it's self preservation but she's in enemy territory in the middle of Team Peter. It was bound to be tricky.
Peter's still in love with Carla. He's still rubbing Jim up the wrong way and in the next minute he's asking for favours and if he gets convicted, Jim is going to feel he's got free reign.
Now Deirdre is going to skip the trial altogether, but probably that's best considering how overwrought she is. Tracy insists Rob come to the trial to show support. I don't think Peter would see it that way, I think he'd see it as mocking him! Rob wants Carla to be his "best man" and she said yes as long as she got to see Tracy's reaction. Which she did by making sure she brought it up in the shop. And she gets to do a speech which is probaby scaring Tracy even more!
Meanwhile, Liz and Tony officially love each other but she lies to him and says she's meeting a friend when she's really going to see Jim at the prison. Sean lets the cat out of the bag and Tony gets all macho and gives her an ultimatum. Don't go in or we're finished. Liz won't be ordered about by any man, we all know that and with her high heels stuck firmly in, goes to see Jim anyway.
And took out her bad mood on Jim and he knew exactly why she was in a bad mood. Knows her well. But she still told him where things stand and put her own foot down. Tony broke up with her for lying and Liz let him go, pasted a smile on her face like all good Landladies do, and went forth into the fray except that demeanor didn't go too far, she exploded at Ken and Deirdre.
Never mind that. She says she doesn't want to get involved with anyone else but then she's tarting up for a night out in the clubs and dragged herself out of bed the next morning hungover.
Meanwhile, Steve is obsessing over a mole. And he is right to get it checked out but for heavens' sake go do it, don't just go on and on about it. If you're that worried, see a doctor, don't bore everyone to tears talk about it constantly. He finally did, the moles are just moles, but there's something else isn't there? He finally admits he's not feeling well, not sleeping, distracted, obsessions. You forget how good Simon Gregson is, with Steve usually playing the fool. The doctor suggests a councillor. Steve doesn't think it's depression because people think depression means you feel sad all the time and it's not like that.
Maddie is mithering Tim now that she knows he can't read very well. She really thinks he should get some help, adult literacy classes or something but he's far too embarassed. Anyone want to bet she'll be the one that teaches him on the sly? Well, in any case, and Maddie should know better by now, she had to talk to Tim about the adult literacy thing *in front of Norris* She might not have mentioned it specifically but it's probably enough to tweak his curiosity. I really like the dynamic between Maddie and Tim.
Kirk and Beth are working all the hours they can to pay for the wedding but Beth isn't willing to give up yet. Looks like Kirk is about to throw in the towel. He's even sleeping on the floor in full clothing! Sinead and Chesney are offering to do the wedding for them and they'll make it special. So Michelle is out and Liz agreed with Beth and Kirk. Not very supportive. Michelle was being rude about spending all that time for nothing. It's ok to be annoyed but a wedding planner doesn't want to get a reputation for being rude. I don't think she's cut out for this. Meanwhile, Tracy is running her ragged!
Kylie promises Eva that she's not going to go back looking for Callum again but what are the chances that will happen? The first bad day and she'll be running for whatever she can get her hands on now that David's locked the ADHD meds away. It seems like David is over the worst of his anger over catching her with the meds and has gone back to being concerned. Maybe. Well, he's even taking family photos so he must be willing to move forward.
Kylie wants to escape her life in the form of a family day out. Today. David points out all their responsibilities, they can do it on the weekend. Talk about taking the wind out of their sails. It sent her right back to Callum and this time for more nefarious reasons. She's after drugs. It's painful watching her slide down the slippery slope, isn't it? You just want to shake and and say "what are you thinking!!!" David knows there's something wrong and she won't open up to him. Audrey really does try to support Kylie and I think she can see a lot of herself in Kylie.
Voting has reopened in the National Television Awards 2014 and will be open until Weds 26 October.
Corrie is up for the award for Best Serial Drama
Sair Khan, who plays Alya Nazir, for Best Newcomer
Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow), Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald), Marc Baylis (Rob Donovan), Alison King (Carla Connor), Paula Lane (Kylie Platt), Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow) for Best Serial Drama Performance.
The awards will be shown live on TV in January 2015.
Gemma and Michael's podcast for the episodes in Canada that aired (up to last night's Canadian Corrie) can be heard here.
Steve spends the week obsessing over a mole, only to be told he may have something else to worry about. Kylie slides down the slippery slope towards her old lifestyle. The Barlows are stressing out before Peter's trial next week. Liz loses Tony because of Jim.
(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2014, reposted with permission.)
The other day I tried to take up the challenge posed by this great blog and it proved something of a struggle! At first I thought it would be relatively easy to come up with a list of sixteen Coronation Street characters I couldn't do without. I only made it to fourteen, shock horror! To begin with, the names came quite easily. Audrey Roberts, always my favourite even though she's woefully underused these days. Ken and Deirdre Barlow - Corrie legends and a terrific partnership spanning decades. Emily Bishop, although rarely seen these days, is still beautifully portrayed by Eileen Derbyshire after more than fifty years. Sally and Tim are a great new partnership and I hope they stay together for the duration, or as long as actor Joe Duttine wants to stay. Steve McDonald is already a Corrie legend to me, mainly down to Simon Gregson's wonderful performances. He's come such a long way over the past 25 years. I couldn't imagine Corrie without our Roy either, David Neilson often rises head and shoulders above both the material he is given and what is going on around him. Then it got a little bit more difficult to come up with names. Carla Connor was there for certain. The modern day Elsie Tanner? I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing, but a great character in her own right who is yet to run out of steam despite being front and centre for years. Another couple I'm very fond of are Eva and Jason. Eva Price was the best thing by far to come out of that family and I'm glad she's stuck around. Her partnership with Jason has a lot of promise too. As I've said before, Ryan Thomas has come on leaps and bounds over the last decade and is now a real asset. I've always been a fan of Mikey North as Gary Windass so out of that family he's the only one I'd keep. Another character I've warmed to is Julie Carp. Mainly playing for laughs, she doesn't get much of a look in as we've endlessly focussed on Tina/Peter/Carla/Rob/Michelle and that delightful merry-go-round of misery. Out of the more recent deluge of characters I could only really add in Steph. I think she lights up the screen every time she appears but I wish the powers that be would give her a proper storyline! She's crying out for one. So that was my fourteen. And it involved quite a bit of head scratching let me tell you. What does that say about the rest of the cast? I dunno. Corrie must currently boast a cast of over sixty regular characters but I can't help feeling many of them are instantly forgettable, under-used, interchangeable with other programmes or have simply run out of steam. Why did I not include characters like Rita, Gail, Liz, Norris or Leanne? Quite simply I don't think recent times have treated any of these characters particularly well. They are either stuck in a rut or have come off badly through association with daft plot lines, relationships with other characters or mind boggling character transformations. I do like Lloyd although for some reason the writers can never find a decent female character for him to play off. Tyrone and Fizz I really wanted to be together, but now they are it's all a bit bland and beige. The same goes for the majority of the Windass and Nazir clans. I keep coming back to the same point. Too many of the characters featured in the Corrie of 2014 just don't feel Corrie enough, if that makes sense. They could easily be in Emmerdale or EastEnders or Holby City. Coronation Street broke new ground in 1960, presenting a compact range of characters everyone knew but had never seen represented on television before. In an age when everything has seemingly been done before on the telly it feels like the powers that be are becoming even more desperate to push boundaries and find new angles. And at the same time, it often feels like we've seen all these new angles before. As a challenge to those at the top, how about producing several episodes that only feature a core cast of characters? I'm not saying they need to be two handers, but just less than normal. Simple, well written, character driven episodes without massive revelations, punch ups, police officers, explosions or weird sexy dance murderer scenes. How about half an hour of the likes of Audrey, Emily, Rita and Deirdre chewing the fat, reminiscing and talking about things that matter to women of their generations? Is that too much to ask?
It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street
photo. After Deirdre's dessert disaster this week here's another funny food failure with Brian Packham covered in chips and mushy peas.
Gemma and Michael's podcast for the episodes in Canada that aired up to last week's Canadian Corrie can be heard here. (sorry, it seemed to have got saved in draft and not posted last weekend)
This week, Kylie is close to going off the rails and she's seeking out her past. Yasmeen's got a new crusade and her husband isn't very happy to have to finance it. The result of Tim's little secret has caused a few raised eyebrows on the street. Neil finally gets the hint and says goodbye. Dev and Julie get closer, much to Mary's chagrin. The character profile is about Ken Barlow, Part 2.
Without further ado here is a brief sneak preview of what you'll see on next week's Corrie in Canada.
Peter's trial begins with the evidence damning Peter. Rob reassures Simon. Roy is struggling with his grief. Tyrone and Fiz take Roy to Blackpool to scatter Hayley's ashes. A bad day gets worse on their return. Steve is troubled. Audrey has lost her driving mojo.
For more details and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury at Corrie.net
Much is being made about Liz McDonald's jacket over on twitter this morning - and of course, Deirdre's wobbly trifle too.
Thanks to some of our great twitter followers and bloggers here we go with a little video of Deirdre getting a trifle upset. She's got hundreds and thousands of reasons to chuck it at the wall. Jelly shouldn't run, it should wobble!
Did anyone else spot the trifle bowl smash, then a bit of the trifle or the bowl hit the lamp to the left of the scene, causing a puff of smoke to go up in the air?
Without further ado here is a brief sneak preview of what you'll see on next week's Corrie in Canada.
Peter's trial begins with testimony from Steve, Roy and Carla. Can Peter convince the jury that he's innocent? Rob reassures Simon. Roy visits Blackpool then gets a shock when he returns to the flat. Kylie gets high again, will David twig? Steve is struggling. Jim is still pestering Liz. Tony returns. Will he and Liz make up?
For more details and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury at Corrie.net
(This post was originally posted by Stevie Dawson on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2014.)
Coronation Street’s PR team have been making a big deal of
Corrie’s men in recent weeks, particularly some of the new arrivals. You may
have seen this Rat Pack style photo shoot which helped viewers get to know some of the easier-on-the-eye
male cast members a little better (including two upcoming new members).
It reminded me of a tweet posted by Charlie
Lawson not long ago about filming his final scenes as Jim McDonald (again) with
Chris Gascoyne who plays troubled Peter Barlow. Here’s the tweet:
On reading the tweet you might think some of Charlie’s
Corrie colleagues would take offence to this slightly bitchy remark. But he
does have a point. It’s certainly not a bad thing to see young, hot, virile
hunks wandering across the cobbles, but in a place like Coronation Street you’d
expect there to be a few more rough and ready blokes than there currently are.
Peter Barlow certainly fits the bill. As does Liz’s new
squeeze and Eileen's ex Tony, who you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley. Or perhaps you
would. And then there are a plethora of baby faces making up the rest of the
male cast – Todd, Luke, Tyrone, Jason and David etc, not forgetting others like Norris
and Ken, who can hardly be described as ‘blokes’. Corrie is famous for its
strong, dominant women, and back in the day despite being severely henpecked there would be strong, troubled husbands and boyfriends opposite them; Alan Bradley, Des
Barnes, Kevin Webster, good old Mike Baldwin and Jack Duckworth, more recently Charlie Stubbs and of course violent ex-soldier
Jim. The Corrie ‘bloke’ existed in its best form before the days of the
metrosexual.
In any case the men in Coronation Street will always play
second fiddle to its women, that’s the way it has always been and that is what
Corrie is all about. However don’t Corrie’s women prove what stuff they are
made of when tested by the opposite sex? Rather than the clean shaven, preened
hunks we see so many of today, perhaps they’d be better served by manning up a
bit and forgetting the idea of style over substance…
In terms of Charlie’s tweet, love him as we do, get over
yourself mate. You play Jim McDonald not James Bond.
